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Thursday, January 29, 2015

So Today's Post is about GLUTEN!

There is a lot of hype about going gluten free to "lose weight" and follow the trend. I found an article on food matters that digs into the real reason to stay away from gluten. The article is here: Why refined grains... Below I am going to do a summary of my findings and why I am choosing this route.

Most people consume grain that has been refined, and this is where the problem starts. "A refined grain, or its product, is made by processing a natural, whole grain so that some or most of the nutrients are lost. Almost all grain products have been refined in some way or another."

Refined grains and their food products are substandard foods for several reasons:

They are excessively starchy and high in gluten.

They are practically devoid of natural fiber.

There can be up to approximately 25 different chemicals that are added to refined grains and breads products.

Grains are fumigated.

Bleaching chemicals are used.

Artificial colorings and flavorings are used.

They are nutritionally imbalanced.

Grains are made in today's society to be able to have long shelf life. This is not good for our bodies.

I hope that helps clear up some confusion for you guys. It makes sense to me know why my stomach is so bothered by these products. There are alternatives (mentioned above) that I am going to try in the future! I really love brown rice and quinoa. I have never tried buckwheat or amaranth. I am going to try to find some gluten free oats to try too because I miss them so much! I think that it can be a smart choice to try to eliminate gluten just because most products today have been so refined. I think it is still important to consume grain products, just in a different form. Try adding some of the 8 gluten free whole grains mentioned above! Let me know what you all think!

Later Taters! (p.s Cardio for me today so if you want to do an at home workout, choose your favorite from my previous posts)

So I thought I would let you all see what my daily food tracker looks like for today. I logged everything I have and will be eating. I am going to try to do this for the whole weekend to keep myself accountable. By looking at my calorie breakdowns, I need to try to eat more protein so that my protein % is higher than my fat %. This is another reason I will be switching up next weeks meal plan!

I hope this helps! This is in the lose it app. I could also track my exercise here

Today I will be informing you on the difference between hunger and appetite. I read a really cool article (link here:H VS. A).

Hunger: the biological need for food
Appetite:our desire for food

Appetite is where cravings come from. Most people crave things like chocolate, fast food, junk food, etc. Rarely do you hear someone say, "I have a craving for spinach" "I have a craving for green beans" and so on. Appetite is more of a learned and conditioned response to the food cues (sensory) around us daily. For example, if you just ate lunch an hour before walking past a bakery, but you cannot resist and go in and buy a cookie, this is your appetite talking not your hunger. In reality, your body does not need the extra cookie to function.

Think of food in terms of nutrient density as you are prepping, eating, or reflecting on what you ate. For example, eat an apple instead of applesauce or eat a fresh orange instead of canned oranges or eat an avocado instead of mayo.

Last interesting fact for the day:consuming artificial sweeteners can cause distortions in your biochemistry that may actually make you gain weight. Studies looking at this issue show very clearly that artificial sweeteners may actually cause greater weight gain than sugar by stimulating your appetite, increasing carbohydrate cravings, and stimulating the secretion of hormones like insulin and leptin that signal the body to increase fat storageThis is why I am trying to cut back on my gum chewing habits :(**New research indicates that artificial sweeteners can actually stimulate your appetite, increase carbohydrate cravings and even stimulate fat storage, leading to weight gain. Fat and protein in food communicate relatively quickly between the mouth and the satiety centre in the brain while artificially sweetened foods don’t utilize this mechanism so too much total food can be easily eaten.So in honor of grocery shopping this weekend, I have created my meal plan and added it here for you all to see!I plan on shopping at AldiBreakfast: hot lemon water and green tea upon waking, supplements, and an Ultra ShakeSnack: 1 oz. almonds and 1/2 cup of fresh fruitLunch: steamed or oven baked veggie variety (possibly in a gluten free tortilla) with an eggSnack 2: 1/2 c fresh fruit and 1/2 c of carrots with hummusDinner: 4 oz baked chicken breast or other lean protein, steamed or baked mixed vegetables, and 1/3 c. brown ricePost dinner if still hungry: 1/2 banana with 1 tsp. almond butterBefore bed: hot lemon water and rest of supplementsAlso, this weekend my workouts will mostly be cardio machines at the YMCA because I am trying to let my back/shoulder healLater Taters!

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Today's workout videos:-Love your body with kettlebells(18 min)-Bodyweight bootcamp (30 min)-Yoga (10 min)Today I decided to blog about some of the benefits of drinking warm lemon water (which I do every morning before breakfast). I found a website (foodmatters) that lists some of the benefits. Here is what I found:-Lemons are vitamin C rich citrus fruits that enhance your beauty, by rejuvenating skin from within bringing a glow to your face. One of the major health benefits of drinking lemon water is that it paves way for losing weight faster, thus acting as a great weight loss remedy.

-Lemon water flushes out toxins and is extremely beneficial for the body.

-Warm lemon water serves as the perfect ‘good morning drink’, as it aids the digestive system and makes the process of eliminating the waste products from the body easier. It prevents the problem of constipation and diarrhea, by ensuring smooth bowel functions.

-Lemon, a fruit popular for its therapeutic properties, helps maintain your immune system and thus, protects you from the clutches of most types of infections.

-It helps reducing pain and inflammation in joints and knees as it dissolves uric acid

-It helps cure the common cold-It helps balance the calcium and oxygen levels in the liver In case of a heart burn, taking a glass of concentrated lemon juice can give relief

-It is of immense benefit to the skin and it prevents the formation of wrinkles and acne

If you are looking for some nutritional reads follow this link to some pretty interesting articles: Food Matters Articles . I will probably be postings my nutritional findings for the rest of the week. Later Taters!

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

-The top picture was my first 7 days on the Ultra simple diet with all top 10 allergens removed from my diet for a week.

-The next picture was taken once I added oats back in and then the right was when I eliminated oats for a few days after

-The bottom picture was after adding back in peanut butter and after a meal and lots of water

I can definitely feel a difference this week from indulging in some of the allergen foods and eating out once. My stomach pretty much said I hate you. I have been suffering for the last 2 days thanks to that. It was worth it, but I am for sure saving that indulgence for special occasions only. I am going back to the first week diet starting today (minus the broth) to help my body readjust. This is the reason progress pictures are so helpful to me. I can see the differences just simple food changes can do to my body in just a few days.

If anyone wants to know more about the Ultra Simple Diet comment below!

You have to want to change! You have to want to wake up each day and live the best and healthiest life in all aspects! You have to be willing to dedicate an hour or two of your day to working out and prepping food for the following day! You have to be willing to take care of yourself and love every part of YOU! Who is ready to take the leap and get on the right track? I know that my life is very busy with graduate school, work, homework, and trying to have a social life. Where does being healthy fit in? I will tell you... I make it a priority in my life just like I make school and work a priority. If it is important to you, you will find a way.

I recently received a comment about counting calories and other things I am passionate about so here is my response: (p.s. I love when readers leave comments and mention things they would like me to talk about)

-Counting calories: I was on a calorie counting fix for awhile. I love the app called LoseIt (kind of like myfitnesspal). I used this for a few months before I started the Ultra Simple Diet. I logged the first day of the Ultra Simple Diet to see what the calories would be like, and then after that I have not logged since. Personally, I eat almost the same thing everyday so I don't really feel the need to track. On the other hand, since I am trying to figure out the food allergies tracking might be helpful for the purpose of logging all the foods I consume rather than the calories. I think that some days I snack way too much and calorie counting would allow me to see all the extra things I am consuming in the day. So really it is all about self control and I say if you are healthy already and do not want to lose any weight, then do not worry about calorie counting. It can be a hassle and time consuming if you are not really dedicated to it. If you do not have the time or energy to calorie count, then just choose healthy foods. A food journal may be easier. Check out my previous blog about the LoseIt app (click here:calorie counting )

-More about ME: I am passionate about doing outdoor things. I have a horse and my family and I love to go trail riding. I also love to camp and hike outdoors. I am hoping to move somewhere warm where I can be outside daily. I am so much happier when it is sunny and warm. I also love running, but my body does not like it too much. I have bad knees and running is hard on my whole body. Now if I want to be outside I do circuits in my yard instead. I like going to the gym when it is not crowded. I hate when there are a bunch of people and you cannot use the machine you want.

I am hoping to post a progress picture in about a week! :D So stay tuned for that as well!

Here is a funny picture I found on instagram. Don't let this be you this coming summer. Be healthy, figure out what your body needs and wants instead of giving into all those processed foods and junk.

Would it be helpful to make some sample meal plans or talk more about nutrition? Who likes the at home workout videos I post? Is there something you would like to see more of?

Monday, January 26, 2015

Goooooood Morning! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. I went to Purdue to visit a lot of my friends and celebrate a friend's birthday, so my weekend was more about relaxing and unwinding. The thing about living a healthy lifestyle is saving alcohol and other food choices for special occasions. This weekend was just that for me! Now I do not get down on myself for this because I know that it motivates me to work even harder this week. I have one of my best friend's wedding in May and I am going to be the healthiest I have been in a while by that wedding :D :D I hope the minion brought a smile to your face on this Monday morning. Let's get down to business...

If you cannot tell I am trying to stay away from too much arm workouts because I did something to my left shoulder/back and I am trying to let it heal.

Set a small goal for yourself for this week. My goal is going to be to drink at least 4 water bottles of water during the day when I am busy with classes and work (I have a big Gatorade bottle). Another goal I have for this week is to tell some one who is special to me something nice and sweet this week. I am also going to tell myself one thing I love about myself every morning this week. Comment below and let me know what your small goals are for this week so that we can keep each other accountable.

I found out this weekend from my little celebration that my body really hates alcohol. It gave me really bad stomach aches the next morning and really bad acid reflux. It is amazing how much better your body feels when you actually treat it well. My body is fine with peanuts still (mini celebration dance), so maybe the end of this week I will add in eggs. My main meals are still the same. Two Ultra Smoothies a day and lunch is brown rice and veggies and dinner is chicken breast, brown rice, and veggies. I made myself little cookies (plant fusion cookies and cream protein powder, mashed banana, ground flax seeds, and soy milk bake 375 for 20 minutes- let them cool- when you want to eat them top with homemade almond butter or peanut butter-microwave for 12-15 seconds) to have when my sweet tooth kicks in and I have carrots and hummus if I get hungry between meals. I have skipped out on the Ultra Broth because it would leak everywhere I took it and it became a hassle. I did like the Ultra Broth a lot though.

Last thing for today... I am wondering what kind of posts my readers are interested in me writing. If you would like to make a little comment about posts you would like to see in the future it will help me in determining what I should keep writing about, what I should write more of, and what I have not even written about yet! Thank you to all of my readers!Big hugs to all of you!

Friday, January 23, 2015

Here is today's progress picture. I can sense some abs starting to peak through. My obliques are getting some definition to them. This was taken one meal into the day and lots of water so I am pretty proud of the results. I just got back from the grocery and I figured out my snack for this week... Carrots and homemade almond butter and peanut butter. I also bought hummus if I want to switch it up! I'm excited for what's to come in the next couple weeks! Experimenting and finding out what upsets my stomach is hard because I know how great I felt the first week on the Ultra Simple Diet, but I know this will be helpful in the long run!

Today's goal is to find new small snacks to tie me over between my four meals. I am thinking one of the snacks will be pre-portioned almond or peanut butter with carrots and another snack throughout the week may be apples with peanut butter (homemade) or almond butter (also homemade). I am trying to eliminate my need to bake all the time for my snacks because most of the time the snacks I bake involve adding something like mini diary free chocolate chips or things that I do not want to be consuming because they do not settle well in my stomach. Once I make these things they disappear way too fast. One reason is because I am not logging my food since I started the Ultra Simple Diet because the days are mostly the same food intake. The slacking comes in when I do not have prepped snacks to hold me over (=New game plan for this week). I froze all of my baked goodies so that I have to defrost one when I need something sweet. There are always ways to try to improve yourself.

My overall goal to reach by this summer is to be able to see my abs again! What is your longer term goal? Comment below and let me know!

In doing some research I have found that a sustainable and healthy body fat percentage for men where you can see their abs is 10-12%. For women, 15-17% can be on the low end. Hips, butt and thighs have less shape because of the low body fat. The article says that 20-22% body fat for women is usually considered the "fit" category. You can read more following the link below.

Why the difference between men and women? Women have more fat in breast tissue and the area surrounding the uterus. This level of body fat is not considered safe, or healthy for women who will be unable to menstruate.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

I am trying to find something that will make me not chew gum (maybe mouthwash or any other ideas?). Part of the ultra simple diet is eliminating sugars, sweeteners, etc. and I struggle with bad breath. I do not like to talk to people after I have eaten garlic and onions as part of my lunch and dinner. I am working on finding a cure for this.

I thought these pictures were very interesting. This is another reason why I do not like to weigh my self very often. Sometimes if you are trying to lose weight, the scale does not move much. This could mean that you are gaining more muscle. You will look slimmer because the muscle (as you can see in the picture above) takes up less space. More importantly, look at yourself in a mirror, look at how your clothes fit, look at how much strength you have build, and look at how much more energy you have!

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

So above are the links to my morning workout. I also have a confession, I am human and I did not stick to my goal of only eating one serving of almonds yesterday. Am I mad, no but I am determined because I know how my body felt afterwards. Too much nuts are not good for our bodies. I know for a fact my body reacts negatively to consuming too many and I can feel it later. If something does not feel right in my body I will always go back to the first week diet then slowly add things back in. I will try to post progress pictures again on Friday. Learn to listen to your body. That is the biggest thing I have learned over the past three weeks. I know that when my body starts to react negatively to food that I need to change something. When I ate too many nuts the past two days my acid reflux also started to act up again along with the stomach aches. When I ate gluten, my body felt bloated and uncomfortable. When I eat dairy I just want to curl up into a ball and not move the rest of the day because my stomach cramps up so bad. These are the types of red lights that are signals to you. Your body is set up to tell you when something is going wrong and it is our job to learn those signals and listen to our bodies. This is your first step to getting healthy.This weekend I am going to try to add eggs back into my diet! YAY! :D

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. To start off my week (no school or work yesterday) here is a leg and cardio workout for you all! It totals to about 50 minutes just follow the links below. All you need is a set of dumbbells. I have 5, 10, 15, and a 20 lb kettlebell which allows me to switch up weights if I want heavier or lighter. If you just have one set that is fine. You can also do these workouts without dumbbells or find something heavy around your home. All of these are at home workouts.

I figured out another thing that bothers my stomach, if I eat too many nuts then my stomach pretty much hates me. I am fine if I just have a serving or two spread out through the day, but if I have too much in one sitting it is bad news!

My tip for today: Do not try to seek quick fixes. Some people want to lose 10 lbs in a week or think they can get back to their high school weight in a month. Be realistic... Being healthy is about a lifestyle change. Obviously if you are unhappy and unhealthy there is some habit or habits in your life that are causing you to be unhealthy. Maybe it is that bag of chips you eat when you sit down to watch tv at night or that extra doughnut that you eat daily at your office or maybe its that lack of drive to workout. Whatever the case may be, you need to find out what is making your life unhealthy and try to fix them one at a time. This means that overtime, you will be on your way to reaching your goals whatever they might be. I started my Ultra Simple Diet three weeks ago and I am slowly reaching my goals. Figuring out what causes my stomach problems is my number one goal right now. This will lead me to a happy and healthy life. See how that works? I am not looking for a quick fix by say doing 2 hours of cardio daily and skipping meals. That is on a track to unhealthy. Instead, I am eating healthy, working out, and figuring out what causes my stomach problems. I am human, and some days are harder than others, but I promise if you stick with it and start to find positives in your life then you will be happier and healthier in the long run.

My update on the third week is that I am not sick of chicken, rice and veggies yet. I still love my smoothies! My goal for this week is to try and only have one serving of nuts a day and that serving needs to be portioned out before I start eating it.

What's your goal for this week? Comment below and let me know. Also if you have any questions for me do not be afraid to ask!

Monday, January 19, 2015

Yesterday was the first day I added peanuts back into my diet and so far so good! I am gonna give it another day or two before I totally rule it out. I think after peanuts I'm going to try to add eggs back in. Today I am going grocery shopping and meal prepping for this week since I don't have class or work today. My diet will look the same as before except I'll be adding peanuts in for a few days.

Today's tip: If you do not have time to fit in all the workout you want to do in one session, break your workout up between morning and night. Today I didn't have time for a workout until 3pm and then I also wanted to do yoga so I will do that tonight.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

This weekend I went to my parents house and my home town. I prepped and packed food for all weekend so that I could stick to my allergen free diet. Let me tell you, it can be so tough eating out of my Tupperware containers when other people are having Mexican food around me (happened this weekend). The thing that keeps me going is that I know my stomach and body will thank me later. I will not feel like poop and get down on myself after consuming them. I did make myself a treat to get through the weekend. I took raisins and ground them up in a food processor with a little hot water so that it becomes a paste. I scooped that out of the food processor and then blended my oven roasted almonds to make almond flour. I added in the raisin paste and dairy free mini chocolate chips. I rolled half the dough into balls and refrigerated them. The other half of the dough I blended a banana and some soy milk into the batter to make it more of a dough consistency. I baked this in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees (F). These were amazing! It made sooooo many.

I briefly answered a reader's comment about oats. Oats are technically gluten free but most are processed in facilities that also deal with gluten products. There are certain oat brands that are totally gluten free. For me personally, I think it is harder for my body to process gluten, but the problem is not as high as when I consume dairy products. This means I will stay away from gluten products for the most part because I just feel better not consuming them. I will save these products for special occasions. I still get my grain servings from the brown rice I consume. Quinoa is also another good product to try. I hope this clears up a little confusion. Always read labels! For example, I always look for a part of the label that says "this product may contain trace amounts of dairy." Read the ingredients because if you are trying to stay away from Wheat products or dairy products it can be tricky. I was trying to buy pre-chopped cilantro paste thinking it would just be cilantro and maybe water or something. After I read the ingredient label I found out it had milk products in it. Always read before consuming!

Friday, January 16, 2015

So here are my pictures taken one day apart (both in the morning because as the day goes on our bodies consume more things so you want to be consistent with the time of day you take progress pictures). The left picture was when I was consuming oats that were added back into my diet for a few days. The right was a day after going back to no oats and my total elimination of the allergen foods. I think that oats do not bother me as much as dairy, but I feel better when I do not consume them. I will save gluten for special occasions. As you can tell they make me bloat up a little more. So now I am back on the week one diet. I am going to try to add peanuts back in starting Monday. If you are looking to follow the plan I am on you can read previous posts. Here is a link to my blog about specifics of the diet :The Ultra Simple Diet Also, you may wonder why my progress pictures are only of my stomach. I think that your stomach tells you a lot about your health. Before I started this diet, my stomach never felt right. It would hurt and ache and feel tight and bloated. It would make me sad, upset, and angry with myself. In reality it was just my body telling me that it did not like the foods I was consuming.

The two first videos (if you haven't noticed already) are two of my favorite videos currently. I have never completed them both on the same day though. I hope to be sore. I am going to try to find some new workout videos for you guys this weekend. Some people wonder how many days a week to workout. I think it depends on the workouts you do and the amount of time you do them. It also matters how your body feels. For me, I do a workout 7 days a week. If my body is feeling sore and tired then I will take a Sunday off. I am a busy girl with graduate school so I only get to workout for 45-60 minutes a day. If I had time to do an hour and a half workout I would probably add one or two rest days into my plan. I also really enjoy my workouts and they make me happy, so this is another reason I choose to do 7 days a week.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

In reflection of my post yesterday about snacking... I am human and I have flaws... I ate after my dinner. While it was healthy food, it was not in my plan. Am I upset with myself, no. Am I going to do something about it, YES! For myself, I like to set up little challenges for myself. It gives me drive and motivation. So my challenge for myself tomorrow is to not eat anything after my dinner (Sticking to my plan 100%). I will let you all know tomorrow how that goes and what I felt, thought, did, etc.

Count down is two days until more progress pictures! Whoop! I do not feel like my progress will be much different than the first week's because this week was about trying to see if oats caused any stomach problems for me. I do not think my reaction to them was as bad as dairy is, I still think my body has a little negative reaction when I consume them. Back to the total elimination diet until Tuesday probably.

This picture is some meal prep I did early this morning took maybe 45 minutes total. I do a little prep each day sometimes every other day. I eat this whole bowl of veggies in just one day. The chicken will last probably 2-3 days and the broth will last a day and a half ("last" meaning before I consume it all hahah).

Some tips for today:

-eliminate "should" from your vocabulary. I should start eating healthy, I should workout, I should pack my lunch for tomorrow. All of these situations lead to failure. People will make excuses for example "I should start being healthy but____."Stop saying SHOULD and actually DO!! You can train yourself to quit saying should. Reinforce your behavior. For example, every time you say should add 10 minutes to your workout for the day. Every time you say should take ten dollars and put it in a jar to reward yourself when you hit your goal. Remember that your diet is going to be about 80% of your success when trying to lose weight or get healthy , and even when you are trying to gain muscle. If you are reading this saying that "I should start following a healthy diet tomorrow" you are off to a bad start! Stop saying should and start RIGHT NOW! Clear your house of any tempting foods. For example, if you crave ice cream all the time do not buy it. It will only lead you to eat it later and feel bad about it. If you want to treat yourself to some ice cream buy the little 1 serving cups. One serving of icecream is only 1/2 cup. You know those tini tiny little cups in the icecream section? Yeah those baby size cups are one serving of ice cream. With that in mind, why would you want those unhealthy foods around your house when you are trying to get healthy and reach your goals? For me, I love to bake. I get really creative when I am bored and try to bake healthy treats with the stuff I have around the house. While this isn't a terrible thing, it leads me to consume more calories than my daily allowance. This is something I have been trying to work on recently.

I hope this helps some of you! Maybe you started a new year's resolution and have fallen off the wagon, maybe you wish you could be back to the weight you were when you got married, maybe before you had kids, whatever the case may be I hope that I can help motivate and inspire you by telling you what I struggle with and what I am doing to try to fix it.

That is all I have for today. If you have any questions for me do not be afraid to comment below!

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

So I know something doesn't feel as good this week as last week, so I'm going to cut out gluten (I was having oatmeal in my homemade easy banana bread) for the next few days and see if my stomach feels better. My goal for the next 2 days is to stick to this plan which was my first week:

Advice about snacking: on tip I have learned to avoid over snacking is to do something to distract yourself. One good distraction is painting your nails! One of my pet peeves is putting spots or marks on my freshly painted nails. For this reason, I am likely to not touch anything for 30 minutes. Usually a craving or thinking you are hungry will go away with time. Drink water and most likely you will not give into that craving. (I am not saying you should not snack, but there is a difference between being hungry and being bored) Other things you could do: read a book or magazine, take a walk outside, do an at home workout, meal prep, clean your bedroom, or plan next week's meal plan. There are so many things you can do to distract yourself... pinterest included ;)

One great book I purchased last year (you can get it cheap on amazon) is The Body Book by Cameron Diaz. If you want to learn more about nutrition and what happens to your body when you consume certain foods, then this book can help you. It tells you more about the differences between fats, proteins, and carbs. It educates you on three things: nutrition, fitness, and the mind. I read through the whole book in just a couple days. It is an easy read but also very beneficial.

Four more days until 14 Days of the Ultra Simple Diet are under my belt. I will be taking more progress pictures then. I was also so excited to answer a reader's question yesterday. I am hoping this breaks the ice for others to ask questions :)

Another thing I have noticed about following this diet is that I save money on groceries! A big plus when you are in college or on a tight budget. I am not throwing out as much food either. I also notice that I do not eat mindlessly like I use to. I do not get as hungry between meals since I have a regular eating schedule with a consistent diet.

My goal for the rest of the week is trying to drink more water. To make it a specific goal to reach I am going to try to drink 2 1/2 water bottles (my water bottle this week is 1.5 liters).

If you guys have noticed I have been incorporating yoga into my daily workouts. This makes me feel better, my muscles are not as tight, and it also workouts your whole body. It is a healthy part of my day for my mentality. I have noticed I have more flexibility and I actually look forward to starting my day off with yoga (I got a yoga mat for Christmas along with a 20 lb. kettlebell and I am kind of obsessed). For my 2 daily Ultra smoothies, I make them the night before in a generic bullet. It makes them easy to grab and go. I get all of my meals separated the night before so that packing my lunch box (which is more like a cooler because it is so big) is faster and easier.

Mix all ingredients and bake in a bread pan 350 degrees (F) for 45-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. A little trick: place aluminum foil or even better parachment paper into the bread pan so you do not have to clean it after :)

Hey! Could you post about cravings and weighing yourself? I feel like I weigh myself more than a normal person should be, and sometimes my weight is 3-5 higher for a few days! What the heck?! I'm sure it is water wright, but it seriously makes me incredibly disappointed and frustrated. I eat healthy and workout, treat myself at times, but why does my weight spike when I treat myself? I have never had this problem, so I am not sure what the issue is here.

First off, I do not own a scale. I was never diagnosed, but I know that I had some eating disorder tendencies when I was younger. This is why I do not like to weigh myself. I track my progress by taking progress pictures and seeing how my clothes fit and feel on me. I think it can be mentally unhealthy to weigh ourselves multiple times a day. If you do want to continue to weigh yourself, I suggest just once a week. I know that there is pressure to be thin, I understand and completely feel that. I just think that the way we feel mentally and physically is way more important than the number on the scale. Weight fluctuation is completely normal for us. For women, our weight fluctuates with the time of the month (if you know what I mean ;) ). Our hormones make us hold on to more water weight at certain times. This is another reason I do not like to weigh myself. Just like in the question, it is discouraging. As far as treating yourself, your body probably does store excess water after a treat because that treat may not be the healthiest thing for your body. I am not saying that you should never treat yourself, but maybe do not weigh yourself for a few days after your treat. Also, weighing yourself at the same time is important. For example if you decide to weigh yourself on a Monday every week, then weigh yourself every Monday morning. Your weigh fluctuates throughout the day too because we put food and water into our bodies so that we have energy to function. Another reason you could be holding onto more weight may be due to a food allergy or intolerance. If you have read my previous posts you know that I started the Ultra Simple Diet. Before this, I felt unhappy and disappointed in myself. I felt that I had gained weight and I always felt bloated. I did not know that I had a food allergy/intolerance. Now that I have eliminated these food groups, I feel happier, healthier, and leaner. You may want to consider finding out if you have one. Our metabolism also starts to slow the older we get. This is why we cannot eat as much as we could when we were in middle school or high school. Most of us are done growing. I hope this posts helps answer your question. Let me know if you have any follow up questions for me!

My advice overall, do not weigh yourself (it gets discouraging and people become obsessed with it). Instead take progress pictures for yourself. Also find out if you have a food allergy or intolerance (I have previous posts about the Ultra Simple Diet- by the way I am not affiliated with this by any means, but I would recommend this to anyone because it has helped me tremendously).

I was sweating after these videos. I used 10 lb. weights for the full body bikini workout. Make sure to hydrate after any workout and also throughout the day. I fill up my brita pitcher and try to drink at least one pitcher at home and I fill up my water bottle regularly while I am on campus. Also make sure to fuel your body. You have to eat to burn fat. Not eating or skipping meals will slow your metabolism and your body will hold onto everything you consume. This is another reason why the Ultra Simple Diet is working for me. I consume something every 3ish hours throughout the day. Did you know that it takes 21 days to break a habit? If some of you have tried clean eating or have tried following along with me on the Ultra Simple Diet, you may still be having cravings. I had so many cravings during the holidays and I think one reason was that I felt deprived. Since figuring out I could not eat dairy, it was hard watching everyone else consume some of my favorite holiday treats. This seven day journey reduced my cravings tremendously. I think the longer I continue eating this way, the less I will crave sugary foods.

Once again, do not be afraid to comment or ask questions below!

Everyone have a safe and warm day (there's ice everywhere here in northeast Indiana and it has been a rough past week with negative wind chills). Go on with your day, be happy, and remember you are in control of your life.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

So reflecting about this diet journey. Before I started, I used to consume a lot of sugar free gum. I would go through a lot! One thing about gum is that it is made of chemicals and chewing it can make you bloat. I still wish I could find something that would make my breath fresher after eating. I may try a mouth wash or something. I am paranoid about having bad breath. I also used to drink water with MIO and other flavorings. Those are also made of chemicals and other ingredients that are not naturally. I think avoiding these chemically made things such as sweeteners like sucrose, aspartame, etc. is part of the reason I am feeling better.

For anyone who hasn't read my previous posts here is a overview of what the Ultra Simple Diet looks like:

PREPARATION

One week before you start the program, prepare your body for all the goodness to come by shedding habits that interfere with your metabolism. Eliminating items from your diet in a systematic way may keep you from experiencing potential withdrawal symptoms and jump-start the process to weight loss and vital health.

Over the course of the preparation week, you should eliminate these items from your diet entirely. Remember, in some cases they are hidden in places you may not expect. Be as vigilant as you can about reading labels and making sure the foods you eat do not contain the following:

Once you’ve completed your preparatory week, you’re ready to embark on the 7-Day UltraSimple Slimdown plan. Use the recipes on the following pages to prepare the UltraShake and UltraBroth called for in each day’s meal plan, and use the Avoid and Enjoy lists to create balanced meals for yourself.

THE 7-DAY ULTRASIMPLE SLIMDOWN

ENJOY

Here are the foods you will include in your recommended meals over the course of the 7-Day UltraSimple program:

AVOID

During this program, you will avoid the following foods. The list is simply to remind you of the toxic and inflammatory foods that most of us consume daily. Some of the fruits and vegetables, and even eggs and meat, listed here may not be a problem for some of you, but the only way to find out is to stop all of them for one week and listen to what your body tells you.

Processed foods or food additives (fast food; junk food; any foods that come in a box, package, can, or that are commercially prepared using chemicals, preservatives and other unnatural ingredients to make them shelf-stable)

YOUR ULTRASIMPLE MEAL PLAN

By steering clear of foods on the Avoid list and combining the foods in the Enjoy list with the UltraBroth and UltraShake recipes that follow, you will nourish your body and keep your metabolism humming over the course of the seven-day program. You should not feel physically hungry, and by taking the recommended UltraBaths, you will both assist your body in expelling toxins and help keep your stress (which causes both inflammation and cravings) at a low level.

Breakfast (7 a.m.–9 a.m.)

Lemon juice (from 1/2 lemon) and hot water

1 cup of decaf or caffeinated green tea steeped in hot water for five minutes. (You may also have the green tea later in the day. Limit your intake to 2 cups a day.)

UltraShake (recipe below)

If no bowel movement by 10 a.m., take two herbal laxative tablets (you can take two senna or cascara tablets to ensure you have a bowel movement).

Morning Snack (10 a.m.–11 a.m.)

1 cup UltraBroth (recipe below)

Another UltraShake (if you are hungry)

Lunch (12 p.m.–1 p.m.)

2 cups or more of steamed or lightly sautéed veggies (you should eat enough to feel gently satisfied)

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

1/2 cup fruit or berries for dessert (either here or at dinner, not both, and only one or two times during the seven-day program)

UltraShake (optional)

Afternoon Snack (2 p.m.–3 p.m.)

1 cup UltraBroth

UltraShake (if you are hungry)

Dinner (5 p.m.–7 p.m.)

4 to 6 ounces of fish or chicken breasts cooked with olive oil and lemon juice or 4 to 6 ounces of tofu or legumes (if using canned, rinse them well)

2 cups or more of steamed or lightly sautéed veggies (eat enough to feel gently satisfied)